What's the background to this source?

In 1657 Cromwell gave up trying to rule with Parliament. He brought in a system of rule by military commanders called Major Generals. This proved unsuccessful and unpopular. This in turn led to the ‘Humble Petition and Advice’. Cromwell accepted the terms of the Humble Petition. However, he refused to become king, which many MPs had wanted as well.

If he had become king, he would have solved the problem of what happened when he died. (By the time of this document, he was not a well man.) MPs feared another civil war between rival leaders who wanted to take his place (see section 1 of the Humble Petition where they asked Cromwell to name his successor).

Cromwell becoming king would have made most MPs happy. However, many in the army did not approve of the idea. Cromwell may have wanted to keep peace with the army.

Above all, Cromwell refused the crown because he thought God would disapprove of this action and see it as a sign of pride and ambition.

It's worth knowing that...

The Humble Petition did not stop disagreements between Cromwell and Parliament. The main issues were liberty (freedom) and being tolerant (allowing people to have different ideas and ways of doing things).

MPs were terrified of returning to the chaos and damage of the Civil War years. They believed that any religious or political ideas that were even slightly unusual should be crushed to stop them causing more problems to society (see section 11 of the Humble Petition).

If Cromwell had sided with MPs on this issue, he could have gained a lot of popularity and support. However, he did not. He thought stability was important, but he thought religious freedom and civil liberty were important as well. He would not simply crush all groups whose views were unusual.

Cromwell was certainly not afraid to make up his own mind and take difficult or unpopular decisions if he felt they were right.

Like MPs, Cromwell believed in crushing potential threats. On the other hand, Cromwell believed that people could find God in their own ways – not just by belonging to the Church of England and obeying its laws and rules. He defended the right of smaller Protestant groups to worship God in their own ways. He even tolerated Catholics as long as they did not cause trouble. During Cromwell’s reign Jews were allowed back into England for the first time since the Middle Ages.